Free Downloads The Merchant Of Venice (Dover Thrift Editions)
The Merchant of Venice is an intriguing drama of love, greed, and revenge. At its heart, the play contrasts the characters of the maddened and vengeful Shylock, a Venetian moneylender, with the gracious, level-headed Portia, a wealthy young woman besieged by suitors. At the play's climax, Shylock insists on the enforcement of a binding contract that will cost the life of the merchant Antonio — inciting Portia to mount a memorable defense.In this richly plotted drama, Shylock, whom Shakespeare endowed with all of the depth and vitality of his greatest characters, is not alone in his villainy. In scene after scene, a large cast of ambitious and scheming characters demonstrates that honesty is a quality often strained where matters of love and money are concerned.The gravity and suspense of the play's central plot, together with its romance, have made The Merchant of Venice a favorite of audiences, and one of the most studied and performed of Shakespeare's plays. It is reprinted here from an authoritative text, complete with explanatory footnotes.
Series: Dover Thrift Editions
Paperback: 96 pages
Publisher: Dover Publications (June 22, 1995)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0486284921
ISBN-13: 978-0486284927
Product Dimensions: 5.2 x 0.3 x 8.3 inches
Shipping Weight: 3.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
Average Customer Review: 3.7 out of 5 stars See all reviews (22 customer reviews)
Best Sellers Rank: #41,650 in Books (See Top 100 in Books) #17 in Books > Literature & Fiction > Dramas & Plays > Comedy #43 in Books > Literature & Fiction > British & Irish > Poetry #69 in Books > Literature & Fiction > British & Irish > Shakespeare > Works
One of my favorite Shakespeare plays. Much "food for thought". The Merchant Of Venice is not performed as much as it used to be because of its supposedly anti-Semitic plot. However, Shakespeare gives Shylock one of the most dramatic and telling speeches in the play "...If You prick us, do we not bleed?..." etc. As with many of his plays, Shakespeare's words and actions have deeper meanings. Watching the play is best, but reading it before the performance does add to its understanding. A play worth seeing many times!
The play itself is fantastic; my warning is about this version. I bought the Dover Thrift edition for my class because it is inexpensive. But to my chagrin, the edition does not have line numbers. It made it near impossible to use efficiently in class. Just a word of warning.
Shakespeare takes advantage of a common bigotry of his day, appears to justify the bigotry to make a crowd pleaser, but slips in question marks to this way of thinking with each step of the story. The bigot will feel like his feet are slipping with each step; the highly righteous politically correct people will be suckered into outrage. When all's said and done, Portia will remain in your mind.
I will not attempt to rate Shakespeare, but this edition is small and a delight to take to discussion groups and the like. Others in the group were lugging around heavy books!
Shakespeare's cleverness is unparalleled.This book is smart, the plot is well developed, and the pound of flesh scene is brilliant.
It's a book...
but honestly I thought this was the crappiest William Shakespeare book I have ever read in my whole entire life.
It was a used copy and I could barely tell it was in prefect condition and really useful for my studies
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